From Com2uS, comes a title that is really exciting for myself. It’s the first, fully-featured MMORPG for the iPhone/iPod Touch, and it’s a pretty great game! It’s currently out in the app store.

Here is the description of it:

First Fully-featured MMORPG on your iPhone/iPod Touch
Com2uS has just released the highly anticipated MMORPG, IMO: The World of Magic on the App Store. IMO is a virtual world that combines the strategy of role-playing games with the competitiveness of social networking games. You can choose from one of three classes: Fighter, Ranger, and Wizard and decide your character’s realms: Lanos Kingdom or Sirus Empire. You will be able to set your character’s gender, name, hair style, and color. Your character will then be placed in a virtual online world with thousands of players from around the world. When you fight, your character will gain exp which will help you build skills that can be used in combat.

Real-time network play with your friends
Unlike the slew of single player role-playing games out there, the best part of IMO is that you can play with your friends and/or family online in real-time. Each character can create a party with up to 4 members which allows each member to gain exp at a higher rate. If you are looking for something a little more casual, you can create a guild which allows up to 40 members and offers special chatting channels. Multiple chatting modes such as speak, shout, whisper, guild chat, and party chat, you can target your messages to a desired group of people in the virtual world. However, one of the most addicting features of IMO is the player vs. player arenas. This allows players from one realm to attack players from another realm. As seen on other MMO games, this adds an element of collaboration and strategy from each realm to launch attacks against other players.

IMO is FREE!
Com2uS has released the game as a FREE game where users can play without any restrictions. However, for users who want an extra boost to their gameplay, specific items are purchasable via In-App purchases. These items do not break the balance between users but instead, adds features that
make certain aspects more convenient. For example, there is a scroll that allows the user to summon a friend to the location of your character. This item is not a necessity in the game but bypasses the inconvenience of travelling across the virtual world to meet a friend. Therefore, a user can play the entire game without needing to purchase a single item.

Check out the screenshots:

So Square Enix just revealed on Facebook that they are bringing Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II to the iPhone and iPod Touch! Check out the screenshots:

This looks amazing and we cannot wait! We’re huge Final Fantasy fans here, so we’re really looking forward to this. Hurry up Square Enix!

GAMEVIL has recently released the trailer for their up and coming game – VANQUISH: The Oath of Brothers.

No gameplay footage, but you can see a small sneak peek at 0:26 of the video, and it looks like a very stylish game! I look forward to more developments of this, and hopefully we can bring you a sneak peek if we get invited into the beta!

Wolfenstein RPG is a turn-based first person shooter based on the original Wolfenstein 3D series, developed by id Software and published by EA Mobile.

The Game

Snipers get all the chicks.

Your go by the name of Sergeant BJ Blazkowicz (Stop laughing.), an American soldier fighting in World War 2, and you have just escaped from a Nazi prison by overpowering a guard, taking his pistol, and shooting your way out. You try to round up other Allied prisoners and go deeper and deeper into Castle Wolfenstein, discovering that the Axis have been up to no good: genetically engineering super soldiers, creating an undead army, and building creatures so foul that the mere sight of them causes a chill to run down your spine. Alright, it wasn’t their sight that did that, it was the fact that they just blew their ice breath at you and froze you dead in your tracks.

Of course, as a sergeant in the Allied armies, none of this even makes you flinch. You bravely go where no man, woman, or very courageous dogs even think about going. You walk around shooting Nazi soldiers, blowing up walls, destroying tables and chairs, eating chicken, looting shelves, and mixing concoctions into syringes that give you extraordinary abilities. You’re going to need every single one of those extraordinary abilities (Alright, maybe you’ll only really need a handful of types of syringes.) because the enemies go from weak, little sissy soldiers to big, hulking, rocket-slinging beasts. To ensure that you do survive the much tougher enemies, you do get more and more powerful weapons like the machine gun and rocket launcher.

Fists of fury make everyone talk.

At your disposal are three types of weapons: Melee, Ranged, and Explosive. Melee is great for knocking the heads off of skeletons, beating up lesser minions, throwing toilets and sinks, and smashing those pesky tables and chairs. Ranged weapons let you bust a cap into bums all around you, going from pistols to assault rifles to sniper rifles, this will be your bread and butter for most of the game. Explosive weapons include sticks of dynamite, which you can use to blow up enemies, set traps, or open up cracked walls for secrets, and a rocket launcher which blows up whatever stands in its path. You control everything at your disposal using an on-screen d-pad and heads up display, simple enough controls especially for someone as awesome as you. There are also several medals you can attain from every level from achievements such as reading every book, destroying every object, or killing every single one of your enemies, and more!

Cool guys don’t look at explosions.

Graphics

Wolfenstein RPG comes with graphics that stay true to the original, using flat textures that are drawn according to the perspective of the player. Nothing special, but the retro feeling is well encapsulated and it runs ever so smooth.

Sound

The soundtrack for Wolfenstein RPG is only existent in the main menus, but it has a subtle army-march feeling to it that fits the game quite appropriately. Otherwise, the sound effects in the game are superb – from the cracks of bones, to the sounds of fists pounding faces, all the way to the sounds of rockets exploding in the distance.

Conclusion

Wolfenstein RPG is a fantastic adaptation of the original version – the turn-based aspect of the game allows both casual and more hardcore gamers to enjoy the game without relying on insane twitch-reflex abilities. In addition, the RPG elements of the game add a greater level of depth that make Wolfenstein RPG one of those titles that you definitely must have on your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Score

MustTap Score: Golden Tap

The best of the best; everything about this is perfect.

Bottom Line
Wolfenstein RPG is a superb title that is the perfect pace for the iPhone and iPod Touch: you are playing a turn-based first person shooter that will have you strategizing best methods for killing and most efficient paths to your targets. A title that you shouldn’t miss out on.

Screenshots

Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor is an action RPG developed by Com2uS.

The Game

DUDE! That mushroom just talked to me man!

Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor is an action RPG that feels like a throwback to the classic ones on the SNES. The game is very simple. You get a quest, with little knowledge of where to go, you finish said quest and then you get a new one. The part that will turn most people off of Inotia is how it gives you little or no direction of where to go. It isn’t that bad, but do not expect the game to hold your hand and take you from place to place. Even though Inotia is an RPG, it does not have much of a plot. For some people, a good plot will help keep them going, even if the gameplay is not that great, but do not expect anything from this game. A brief glimpse you do see into the plot is the video that plays at the beginning of the game. On the other side, Inotia has a good skill system where you can allocate points you gain by leveling up to make them better. It is not too deep, but it adds a very nice touch to make it feel more RPG-ish.

The combat and controls in Inotia is fairly decent. You run around by tapping on where you want to go. You also engage in combat by tapping on what you want to fight. Once you start fighting something, your character starts to auto-attack his foe. The only input the player has are using special skills, using potions, or running away. Inotia is a semi-forgiving game, but the combat isn’t. If you are fighting something that gives you a small challenge, and another monster starts to attack you, you are probably going to die if you do not run. The difficulty of the monsters can ramp up quickly, so moving on to another location can be a pain if you are not prepared for it. This all being said, a fair amount of grinding is necessary in Inotia if you want to be successful. It is not so bad, but with the ever increasing difficulty per area, just going through it is never enough. Unfortunately, if you are not a fan of grinding levels, you will probably hate Inotia after just a short time with it.

Graphics

Inotia’s graphics seem like they were pull straight from the SNES days. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but most people prefer good graphics these days. The sprites all do look good and have a certain uniqueness and charm about them, and the environments never felt repetitive or anything of that sort. The graphics are not bad, but some more work could have been put into making the game look better overall.

Sound

The audio department of Inotia is one of its major weak points. The music is just a loop, which makes itself very obvious by pausing when it finishes a loop and is about to start over. The sound effects are not great either: they are simple and generic for everything that you do. The only positive thing about the sound is that it is there.

If the mushrooms and blobs don’t get ya’, them fairies and dingos will.

Additional Comments

Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor is a good game, despite this review, but the main point is that some people will love a game like this and play it for a long time, but others will be turned off after the first few minutes. This may sound like most games, but those who enjoy the game will be outnumbered by those who do not. Test the waters with the Lite version and see if this game is for you.

Conclusion

As I mentioned, some will like Chronicles of Inotia, others will not. The game is not revolutionary or anything of the sort, but will be enjoyed those who like action RPGs that require grinding and training to get further in the game. The game is currently on sale for $0.99, and there is a lite version, so give it a shot.

Score

MustTap Score: Iron Tap

It's technically solid, but what comes out is pretty plain.

Bottom Line
Chronicles of Inotia: Legend of Feanor should only be recommended to people who like retro action RPGs and don't mind grinding levels.

Screenshots

Zenonia is an action RPG game developed by Gamevil.

The Game

Zenonia fuses SNES era Legend of Zelda with Diablo-esque RPG elements, creating a content-rich action RPG worthy of a 16-bit console release. The protagonist, Regret, can be one of three classes – Paladin, Assassin, or Warrior – and choose from talent trees with both active and passive skills. Each level up offers both stat and skill points for distribution. While the amount points to dole out might turn off the casual gamer, it only extends the content available to the action RPG fantatic.

You can port between towns.

An on-screen d-pad and action button control the bulk of the action, but two sets of smaller buttons act as quick slots for items and abilities. Arguably, the combat has depth; depending on your class, you have a handful of active skills at your disposal. As a Warrior, however, I found myself simply pressing the attack button ad infinitum. Even when special moves outclass your basic attack, the miniscule quickslot buttons require a level of finger precision not meant for active combat. If you can manage it, there’s a satisfying feeling from sending a monster reeling backwards with a critical strike, dashing forward, and unleashing a devastating special attack. The problem is, you never need to.

The game offers varying gameplay speeds, the lowest of which grants you a feeling of precise control. Unfortunately, the consequence of this is sacrificing your ability to speed through the often dull sections of grinding that Zenonia requires to keep up with the level of the story monsters. Even the directional pad lends itself to finger slip-ups; considering the hardware offers no tactile response, 360 degree movement would have been a blessing to Zenonia.

Gamevil clearly designed the game with traditional action RPGs in mind, which is both its greatest asset and liability. From the cliche story to the perfunctory dialogue, Zenonia leads the player into a shallow and unimmersive world. During story sequences, I found myself yerning for the awkward, single-button combat. Regret even occassionally pitifully shatters the fourth wall, as if begging for reprive from the drudgery of living inside a generic RPG world.

Usin’ dem active skills.

Despite the cliches, Zenonia is incredibly fleshed out. Most gamers will feel a tinge of nostalgia as they guide Regret on his quest to find his father. Throughout the course of his quest, you’ll be faced with several choices that define you as good or evil. Your alignment changes the story path, but certain choices aren’t distinctly good or evil in the players eyes until after they’ve been selected. It offers literally hundreds of items with varying rarities, several story paths, and dozens of hours of gameplay.

Graphics

If Zenonia shines anywhere, it’s here. The vibrant and varied enviornments are crisp and clean on the iPhone. Visual effects from special attacks actually give you the feeling that you struck a monster ferociously. Even the monsters themselves are well designed. Gamevil delivered top-notch visuals while retaining the essence of 16-bit graphics.

Sound

The music is standard for the genre; I found myself listening to my own music while playing more often than not. The sound effects are clean and appropriate, somehow managing to not be obnoxious after the thousandth sword swing.

Conclusion

The ability to save anywhere is a nice touch. While the game certainly has its flaws, it stands out as the premier action RPG for the iPhone and will keep you busy for longer than you could ask for the price.

Score

MustTap Score: Silver Tap

Looks great and gives out some quality stuff!

Bottom Line
Zenonia might not be the perfect game, but you'd be hard pressed to find an iPhone offering that outclasses it within the genre. Action RPG fans shouldn't think twice about buying.

Screenshots